Stonger Together
by Arasulgil
Summary: As times grow darker in the Wizarding World,bonds of sisterhood are tested and new paths are discovered.
1. Chapter 1

A/N=School:Beauxbatons

Theme:Ilvermorny

Main prompt:15). Leave a Light On by Tom Walker [Song],Other prompt/s:21). The Headmasters/mistresses Office [Location]

Year:5

Word count:2132 on , 2400 on Word

* * *

Parvati knocked on the door of the Headmaster's office, opening the door when she heard Professor Dumbledore's grave "Come in."

When she entered, her jaw dropped, for sitting opposite the desk was her father.

"Please sit, Miss Patil," Dumbledore said. She sat shakily, willing her legs to stop wobbling, hoping this did not mean what she thought it meant. Her parents had been hinting at it for ages, but she had always taken it lightly-surely it wasn't that bad? Now, though, she wasn't so sure.

"Miss Patil," he said, "your father has a proposition to put forward to you."

Her heart starting to drumroll, she turned to look at her father, who put his hands on her shoulders.

"Parvati,' he said softly, "I know you love this school and your friends, but times are changing, love. We have nothing against this school, but your mother, sister and I have decided that this country is no longer safe. We need to leave, and leave soon."

She did not dare to answer, but her look told all.

"Darling, this is hard for all of us," he said, "and all of us are making sacrifices. It will have to be your life or your school. I promise that you will be able to communicate with your friends eventually."

For a moment, she was tempted to choose her school: after all, Hogwarts was her home-but she couldn't leave her family. If Padma could bear to leave, so could she.

She held the tears back and attempted to reply. "If I agree to leave, what will happen?"

Her father smiled and patted her on the back. "That was what I was discussing with Professor Dumbledore before you arrived. It is better that he tells you about it."

She turned to face Dumbledore. "You must know, Miss Patil," he said, "that I was against the idea from the beginning, for I trust that as long as I am alive, Hogwarts is the safest possible place. However, I cannot go against your parents, so this is what I suggested."

She listened with bated breath.

"Miss Patil, your father wishes for your family to leave this country, but also for you and your sister to finish your education. There is a highly valued American school by the name of Ilvermorny, with a magical curriculum very similar to ours. Your father, at my advice, wishes to migrate to America and allow you as well as your sister to continue your education there. He is also prepared to let you correspond with your friends at Hogwarts through letters, Fire Calls and, in emergencies, the Floo Network."

"This is the best option we have, Parvati," her father said. "Either way, we will be leaving this year."

She knew this would be coming. "I have one request," she said, biting her lip. "May I stay until this term is over?"

Dumbledore smiled understandingly; to her left, her father nodded.

~ooOOOoo~

Within the following weeks, she tried to forget about it, but she found it nearly impossible. Goodbyes were said, parting gifts given, addresses and Muggle phone numbers exchanged.

After the Headmaster's unexpected death, her father was adamant, her mother terrified: they planned to attend the funeral and then pick her as well as her sister.

On the last night of school, she had such difficulty falling asleep that she went to Madam Pomfrey.

"Your sister was here barely ten minutes ago," she said lightly, pouring a measure of potion into a small goblet. "She couldn't sleep either."

"Oh," was all Parvati could muster the ability to say.

Gently pushing the goblet into her hand, Madam Pomfrey said softly, "I heard you girls are leaving, and I won't make you feel worse, but I will say: good luck, dear. Don't worry, the war will end soon, and Ilvermorny is truly an excellent school; my niece goes there, she's in Wampus house."

"Do you truly believe that the war will end soon?"

Madam Pomfrey smiled tiredly. "I am only an old lady with a bit of healing expertise, Parvati. All I can do is watch, hope and help."

"Aren't you..." Parvati hesitated, but continued "afraid of what will happen now?"

If she was offended, she did not show it. "I'll confess a little secret of mine, dear," she whispered, moving closer. "I am. But I do want this to end, and the only way I can make that happen is to help in whatever tiny way possible. As all of us must do."

She leaned back. "Get some sleep," she said. "Drop in tomorrow and say goodbye, please; I would love to see you girls one last time. Good luck, and remember that you and your sister, when everything else fails, have each other."

As Parvati slipped out, she vowed she would.


	2. Chapter 2

After Dumbledore's death, she had no excuse, so they fled. However, her father allowed her to owl her Hogwarts friends through "safe methods", which in no way made up for the loneliness she felt, but was better than nothing.

 _12A,_

 _Thorne Apartment,_

 _Town Square_

 _2_ _nd_ _September_

 _Dear Lavender,_

 _How are things in Britain? Good luck with the new Headmaster…._

 _The new school term started today. Unlike Hogwarts, my parents had to drop me at school, but that was fine. Since Padma and I were new, we were Sorted alongside the first-years, but we were thankfully not the only ones: there were a few other British students who looked about our age._

 _The Sorting's very different from Hogwarts: we had to stand on these marble figurines of beasts, which lit up if they wanted us in that house. I was sorted into Pukwudgie: Padma's in Horned Serpent, which, from what we hear, is like Ravenclaw._

 _Our robes are much prettier than plain black: we have sky blue robes lined with silk the colour of those wild strawberries we found growing near the Divination tower. The school building's newer and smaller than Hogwarts: the dormitories are tiny. We don't have house colours, but we do have house flags._

 _As soon as I was sorted, I wondered: what, in the name of Merlin's beard, was a Pukwudgie? My question was answered soon after, as dinner was served. Ilvermorny doesn't have house-elves to do the chores: instead, crews of Pukwudgies, little hedgehog-like beasts, cook and clean._

 _I'll write again soon. Keep in touch._

 _Missing you,_

 _Parvati_

 _~ooOOOoo~_

 _No. 7,_

 _Oxford Street,_

 _London_

 _2_ _nd_ _October_

 _Friend of friends,_

 _What's Ilvermorny like? Are there any….*boys*?_

 _Things are not so good here. We have two new ! teachers(I hope you remember the code and what ! means…) and they are very fond of….er….enthusiastic punishment. You're lucky you're there. Most of us hate_ _Defence_ _Against The Dark Arts and Muggle Studies (compulsory) now; all of us except Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy, that is. They're actually at the top of the class, but thankfully our parents know it's_ _favouritism_ _and don't care._

 _Be careful, Parvati. We've got word that You-Know-Who may be placing spies in America to cut off communication routes. If so, this may be the last letter from me (at least until this war is over)._

 _Did you know that Potter, Granger and_ _Won-Won_ _Weasley have left Hogwarts?! Snape won't say anything, but everyone else says they're on some important mission. Whatever it is, I wish them luck. I never thought I'd say this, but they're our best and probably only hopes._

 _There is something else I wanted to write to you about, Parvati. It won't matter to anyone who gets hold of this, but I needed to ask: is Padma okay? She wrote a letter to me, but it seems like she accidentally attached a diary page to it. I'm attaching it here for you to read. Please, please check how she's doing, if you haven't already. I'm beginning to get worried._

 _Yours affectionately,_

 _Lavender B._

The page, with a few short sentences scribbled on it in unkempt handwriting, read:

 _It's getting harder. Hogwarts was hard enough….everyone knows Ravenclaws are not the best at making friends. Just when I succeeded in doing so, everything was uprooted._

 _They are teasing me, the Ilvermorny students. I had ENOUGH of that at Hogwarts! But here, it hurts a lot more._

 _Parvati is and will be fine wherever she is. I can see it on her face, in her personality. She will be fine without me._

 _I wish I could end this._

 _It feels terrible, like my head and heart and soul are fighting. I know Parvati would go with her heart. But I was a Ravenclaw for a reason._

 _I want to end this, at least for myself._

 _I will end this._

Parvati wildly fought to regain control over her feelings as she stuffed the letter in her pocket and raced out of her dormitory.


	3. Chapter 3

The second Lavender mentioned her sister, she could feel it. Now, as she raced up to the Horned Serpent dormitories, she mentally cursed herself. How had she not noticed the struggle and trouble coursing through her sister all this time?

But she had, she mentally corrected herself. She had felt it sparking, but she had been too preoccupied to notice. She felt the most ashamed she had ever been in her life: this was worse than dancing with Potter in her fourth year had been.

 _Don't let go, Padma,_ she prayed silently, urging her legs to move faster. _Please, for my sake, keep holding on._

When she reached the dormitory, she was told that her sister was missing.

She searched the library, the dining hall, the grounds and wherever else she could think of.

On a sudden hunch, she ran to the highest tower, mentally cursing its many stairs.

Sure enough, Padma was there. As Parvati entered, she could see her sister looking at the window, placing one leg over the sill in an attempt to… jump out?!

Parvati surged forward and grabbed her sister by the arm. "Padma, _what are you doing?_ "

Padma stopped and slowly turned to look at her, as if seeing her from a distance; Parvati gripped her shoulder tightly. As if fighting off a foreign influence, she convulsed, then relaxed, her eyes closed.

After the longest few minutes Parvati had ever known, Padma's eyes opened and focused on her sister, then she shuddered and broke down in a stream of sobbing.

Parvati could only hold her sister close until her sobbing ceased.

"Tell me what's been happening, Padma," she said gently. "What's been on your mind? I know there has to be a reason for this, and I trust you."

"I ….don't know," Padma said slowly. "It was like something was-controlling my mind, making me look for darker places to hide. Half of it was like an Imperius Curse…"

"How did it break?" Parvati wondered aloud.

"It wasn't that strong," Padma sniffled, wiping the still-falling tears on her sleeve. "It felt like someone was just testing it out."

"And the other half?" Parvati prompted gently.

Padma hesitated.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me," Parvati prompted gently, although it hurt to say that. "But focus on me. You can tell me anything; you're safe here."

A distressing thought started taking shape in her head." Was it because you were lonely?"

The slightest of nods almost made Parvati cry too. "I'm sorry, sis-"

"Stop," Padma said. "It wasn't your fault, and you know it. I felt out of place, after knowing where I fit in at Hogwarts; I lost all my old friends, who labeled me a coward for leaving; the people in my dormitory tease me because we fled Britain. But going through hardship doesn't justify me not telling you. We've all made mistakes. I just, um, lost my way a bit."

"The next time that happens _, tell me,"_ Parvati said. She tried to stay composed for her sister's sake, but she couldn't prevent the two teardrops rolling down her cheeks. "It doesn't justify me not helping you, either. I'm sorry I didn't notice, and it sounds inadequate, but honestly, I'm really sorry."

Padma smiled weakly. "I know, I'm an idiot."

"We're safe together, remember?' Parvati whispered, cupping her sister into one final embrace. "If you lose your way, I'll help you find it. You don't need to tell me right now, but I need you to be brave. Hiding from me won't make it okay."

Padma wiped her face and, after a pat on the shoulder, left the room.

Parvati knew that she would have to inform her father about the curse; he would probably want to investigate it further. But right now, she needed to be there for Padma. If she had lost her way, Parvati would light the way back.

She would leave the light on.


End file.
